NEWS

Our Founder Harry Workman purchased a 30 gallon milk round on May 1st 1938, 80 years on we are now one of the largest independent dairies in the UK. The business has grown by the hard work and dedication of the Workman family and team of loyal workforce and they continue to adhere to the Harry’s core values of ‘Quality, Service and Cleanliness’.

Back in the early days, the milk was processed by a handful of people and delivered to the doorsteps around Tewkesbury in a Morris 8 van. Now employing 360 staff and with depots in Cheltenham, North Wales and Shrewsbury, as well as the main processing site in Tewkesbury, the company continues to produce high quality milk and cream products delivered efficiently and reliably to a loyal customer base.

Currently, the dairy processes around 250,000 litres per milk every day and prides itself on the quality of the products, which is due to the long term partnerships which have been forged and maintained with the local farmers from which the raw milk is sourced and to the dedication and loyalty of their staff.

To mark the occasion, the staff and family members enjoyed a celebration at local family business Tewkesbury Park Hotel. Local companies have been very generous in raffle prizes and monies raised will be for the Air Ambulance. We also commissioned a picture from local cow artist Sam Morris.

We have also decided to support 80 charities in our 80 years to include donations of products, money from our tuck shop and hampers of goods.

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

>

Cotteswold Dairy Reusable Glass Bottles January 2018

There has been a lot in the press recently about the use of plastic bottles and the waste it creates. At Cotteswold Dairy, they are passionate about reducing this through delivering the milk they produce in Glass Bottles. These are then rinsed and reused on an average of 50 trips!

Since the Dairy started 80 years ago by Harry Workman, they have always delivered milk in the reusable glass bottles and it tastes so much better too! With the help of their own milkmen and independent milkmen approximately 60,000 pints a day are delivered to individuals and families homes over England and Wales.

With the amount of milk consumed by households, this is a very positive way to start reducing plastic consumption. It is also delivered by a milkman which is very convenient too! Not only do they supply milk is glass bottles but also a delicious range of juices. Roseanne McEwan, marketing manager explains ‘even when the supermarkets and bigger milk suppliers started selling Milk in plastic bottles, it is an important identity for us to keep producing milk is Glass Bottles and it remains popular. Many consumers care about the environment and this is just one of the many ways, that we can reduce plastic use. We are bias but milk also tastes so much better out of glass than plastic. We always welcome new customers so do get in touch to find out about a delivery!’

To hear our Marketing Manager talking about the importance of glass reusable milk bottles please do click the link below and scroll to two hours and 20 minutes into the programme.

After many years, our Cheltenham depot has been located on the Hyde Farm premises and it has been a great facility to serve our doorstep customers from. However we have outgrown the site and we have successfully secured a new purpose adapted depot on the Kingsditch Trading Estate.

It was vital to remain close to the town centre and nearby villages as many of our milk floats are electric and therefore there was a certain radius that we needed to be located in. The new depot has ideal facilities for our staff and also ideal fridge space to enable to continue to grow our business.

We are now running our doorstep service from here and also our semi retail business serving our offices, shops and retail side. In order to make the transition smooth, we have kept our same telephone and email details:

Our Cheltenham Depot Manager Fred Tandy has worked around the clock with his team and all the staff have worked together to get the new site ready for operations.

George Workman MD comments, "We have a very loyal customer base in and around Gloucestershire and therefore we needed a site where we can grow and fulfil our potential. We were delighted when this site become available and we have excellent staff from project manager to maintenance to ensure that we have been able to swiftly move sites and function from there. It helps free up some space in our main site at Tewkesbury where we are creating a museum and improved welfare facilities for staff."

Do email us if you have any comments over the move or if you want any further information.

7th December 2017 - Cotteswold Dairy Cheltenham Depot Relocation

After many years, our Cheltenham depot has been located on the Hyde Farm premises and it has been a great facility to serve our doorstep customers from. However we have outgrown the site and we have successfully secured a new purpose adapted depot on the Kingsditch Trading Estate.

It was vital to remain close to the town centre and nearby villages as many of our milk floats are electric and therefore there was a certain radius that we needed to be located in. The new depot has ideal facilities for our staff and also ideal fridge space to enable to continue to grow our business.

We are now running our doorstep service from here and also our semi retail business serving our offices, shops and retail side. In order to make the transition smooth, we have kept our same telephone and email details:

Our Cheltenham Depot Manager Fred Tandy has worked around the clock with his team and all the staff have worked together to get the new site ready for operations.

George Workman MD comments, "We have a very loyal customer base in and around Gloucestershire and therefore we needed a site where we can grow and fulfil our potential. We were delighted when this site become available and we have excellent staff from project manager to maintenance to ensure that we have been able to swiftly move sites and function from there. It helps free up some space in our main site at Tewkesbury where we are creating a museum and improved welfare facilities for staff."

Do email us if you have any comments over the move or if you want any further information.

Pershore High School

As a business, we are committed to working in the community and one of the ways in which we achieve this is education. We recently had the opportunity to present the history and information about the Dairy to a class of Business GCSE students at Pershore High School. This specifically focused on the importance of repeat business, customer loyalty and stakeholders importance.

We went through the history of the business, from how Harry Workman founded the business in 1938 to how it has grown to employ over 350 people. It was fantastic to have such an enthusiastic class of 15 and 16 year olds asking many challenging, interesting questions, and engaging in such an animated manner.

We believe we have grown so significantly over the past 80 years due to our quality, service and family values. Having the opportunity to talk to potentially our business managers or even owners of the future, it was great to be able to explain the significance of quality of the product and customer service for a company and how this can greatly influence the company for the better.

​

Book Launch 19th October ‘Fuelled by Milk’ Harry & Roger Workman

Harry Workman was born on the 12th October 1917 and he had a long and eventful life until he passed away in January 2016. To mark what would have been his centenary and the Dairy that he founded celebrating 80 years next year, Cotteswold Dairy has joined forces withTewkesbury Historical Society (THS) to publish a book – “Fuelled by Milk”.

The first two parts were published in 2003-4 by THS and Harry and contain Harry’s memories of his early life in Tewkesbury, founding Cotteswold Dairy and the honour of being Borough Mayor twice.

As those of us who knew him fondly remember, it was the way Harry told the stories which inspired and we are fortunate that he has passed this skill onto his son.

The third part of the book has been written by his son Roger to celebrate the history of the family firm. Harry’s expertise has been successfully passed onto Roger and the two worked closely to build up the business. It is now managed by the third generation who have continuing philosophy learned from their grandfather, with Roger retaining his role as Chairman.

The book, filled with an abundance of photographs, will be launched on Thursday, 19 October 2017 at 7.45pm in the Methodist Church at the Cross at the meetingof Tewkesbury Historical Society.

There will be apresentation by Roger, where there will signed copies and a chance to buy discounted copies of the book. Thereafter, they will be available through Alison’s Bookshop and . It has been printed by the local Tewkesbury firm of Packwoods Printers.

On the 19th and 20th of August, we were at Newland Park, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham for the Gloucestershire Family Fun Day in the Coop Suppliers food tent. It was a fantastic mix of people in the tent from Spot Loggins, one of our Organic farmer’s Ice cream Company, many drinks producers, delicious food demonstrations and beautiful local meat!

We were very fortunate with the weather, incredible number of people that turned up and to be placed right next to the chef that was doing the food demonstrations (they were simply mouth-watering!). A truly great display of locally sourced products supplied by the Coop. It was a brilliant opportunity to provide samples of our Upper Norton Jersey and Guernsey cultured products to members of the public so close to our depot and processing site in Tewkesbury. These are all our award winning products and include clotted cream, sour cream, crème fraiche, double cream and Greek style yogurt.

The team met with a number of our doorstep customers and it was great to be able to chat with them and receive some lovely feedback about out unsung heroes, the milkmen! They work throughout the night to ensure that our customers have their daily essentials on their doorstep in time for breakfast. For an updated product list that we are able to deliver to your door then please do check out the following link: http://www.cotteswold-dairy.co.uk/product-lists.html

Overall, it was a great opportunity to get the Cotteswold name out into the community, raise some money for charity and have an enjoyable time whilst doing so!

​

Great British Food Awards 2017

We are delighted that our Greek Style Yogurt has been named ‘Dairy Product of the Year’ in the Great British Food Awards 2017. Having recognition for producing award winning products is fantastic and it was up against strong competition. There was a record number of entries and so to be shortlisted in both our Clotted cream and Greek style yogurt in the dairy category was brilliant. Winning overall is credit to our tremendous farmers providing us with the best quality milk and to our staff for producing and making this delicious Greek style yogurt.

It was judged by Simon Rogan, chef patron of Cumbria’s L’Enclume and commented:

“The yoghurt had a lovely deep creamy flavour and a gorgeously thick, smooth texture. It was great to eat on its own but when combined with some mixed berries from our farm it was next level, a really amazing product which they should be very proud of. Fantastic!”

Added to the 3 Stars it was awarded in the Great Taste 2016, this product is in a league of its own.

Have you tried it yet? If not, we recommend you do and you can judge for yourself!

Its available retail, foodservice and to the doorstep. Do get in touch to place an order!

​

The NMR Event

The annual Gloucestershire NMR was hosted by Tom Goodwin this year. The farm has recently installed a new milking parlour, the history of the family farm and all the facilities the farm has. Guests were encouraged to walk around the farm at their own pace and see the investment they have made as a family.

- Tom Goodwin - third generation farmer at Hollybeds. Grandfather Reg Goodwin started farm with wife Joyce and two children David and Jean, they came to Hollybeds in 1950.

- Grandfather Reg was a cattle dealer, Hollybeds was perfect for this.

-Son David returned in 1965 to take over the milking herd, gradually built up a flying herd of 150 cows milking in the herringbone harbour which was put in in the mid 70's. David and Sandra married in 1972 - they had four children, Kate, Amy, sophie and Tom

- Tom graduated from Harper Adams in 2007, he then came home to join the family business with David and Sandra.

- in 2014 a decision was made to gamble and remain in the dairy trade hoping the future will be sustainable. Dairy was their biggest income but couldn’t continue with the old system.

- An investment of £1 million was made for a new dairy parlour, which was completed in August 2016 after 2 years planning.

- David has suffered ill health, unable to enjoy seeing this in action but played a huge part in planning/design work.

- 100% A.I using the Genus RMS service.

- Serve their best cows to black and white and the rest to British Blue.

- Run 3 groups of cows - highs, lows and a fresh group, with the lows still going out to graze.

Farm and Rural Careers Day 12th July 2017

Hosted at Cotswold School in Bourton on the Water, this informative day educated students (and some teachers!) about food provenance and where it is produced locally. It also aimed to encourage pupils to consider future careers in agriculture or food production. We teamed up with Emma Harrison, who has three farms in Chipping Campden, to inform the students of the dairy process from farm to table.

There was a great mix of ages from primary school level to year tens. We encouraged the students to participate in some butter making by simply shaking their bottle of double cream until the butter had formed. This received a great response from the students as many did not realise that was how butter was made.

In addition to this, we performed blind tasting with our free-range milk of whole, semi skimmed and skimmed. This was to teach the students about the taste difference and fat content. We also discussed the different breeds of cows, different types of dairy farms and that not all milk tastes the same!

Tanya Robins from the NFU felt the day was hugely beneficial, "Giving up a whole day from your businesses to support this event is hugely appreciated. We were so lucky with the weather and the children and teachers appeared to love it. Some of the children brought their parents back at school pick up time so I hope they know more about their food produced locally and will consider careers in farming/food production/rural based professions. The school is very keen for us to do another event in 2 years time!"

Educating children at a young age is so important to help them understand where the food they eat comes from and how its produced.

​

Farm and Rural Careers Day 12th July 2017

Hosted at Cotswold School in Bourton on the Water, this informative day educated students (and some teachers!) about food provenance and where it is produced locally. It also aimed to encourage pupils to consider future careers in agriculture or food production. We teamed up with Emma Harrison, who has three farms in Chipping Campden, to inform the students of the dairy process from farm to table.

There was a great mix of ages from primary school level to year tens. We encouraged the students to participate in some butter making by simply shaking their bottle of double cream until the butter had formed. This received a great response from the students as many did not realise that was how butter was made.

In addition to this, we performed blind tasting with our free-range milk of whole, semi skimmed and skimmed. This was to teach the students about the taste difference and fat content. We also discussed the different breeds of cows, different types of dairy farms and that not all milk tastes the same!

Tanya Robins from the NFU felt the day was hugely beneficial, "Giving up a whole day from your businesses to support this event is hugely appreciated. We were so lucky with the weather and the children and teachers appeared to love it. Some of the children brought their parents back at school pick up time so I hope they know more about their food produced locally and will consider careers in farming/food production/rural based professions. The school is very keen for us to do another event in 2 years time!"

Educating children at a young age is so important to help them understand where the food they eat comes from and how its produced.

​

Royal Three Counties Show.

We had a fantastic long weekend at the Royal Three Counties show in the sun. We were able to meet a number of our customers and farmers. It was great for us to have the opportunity to engage with our customers that we so rarely see having deliveries throughout the night and receive some lovely feedback. We enjoyed the opportunity to show children (and even more adults) how to make butter and where milk comes from with reminders in the form of fluffy cows, balloons and the butter to take home with them!

Royal Three Counties Show

Our Booth

We also held an afternoon tea offering our very hard working farmers a good old fashioned Fruit Scone, jam with a generous dollop of our Upper Norton Clotted Cream.

Overall, it was a great weekend, fantastic weather and a wonderful opportunity to meet and engage with our colleagues, customers, farmers and members of the general public.

Cotteswold Farmers honoured at the Western Daily Press Food and Farming Awards

These awards last night celebrated the best of farming and food production in the West Country and Cotteswold Dairy was delighted to see recognition for the farmers that supply them. Our largest organic supplier Tom Appleby, won ‘Best Farmer’ and was runner up in ‘Family Farming Business’. He has an impressive organic set up and would have captivated the judging panel with how he organises the farm and milking parlour.

Jack Griffin won ‘Young Farmer’ and is very ambitious. His family farm supplies conventional milk and they have expanded with a Jersey and Guernsey herd to supply milk for our Gold Top range and premium range of culture products.

Jack Griffin, Tom Appleby with Phil Vickery who hosted the awards

In addition, our associate, Neil Darwent who founded the free range dairy movement won ‘Outstanding Contribution to Farming’. This was perfect acknowledgement for Neil and his business partner Carol who have worked tirelessly to promote cows being grazed in fields for a minimum of 180 days a year.

It is with great pleasure to announce that one of Cotteswold Dairy’s independent milkman, Tony Fowler MBE has received a Milk Hero Award this week from the Dairy UK for being the eyes and ears of his local community for over a quarter of a century.

Tony, who has already been recognised with an MBE and a pride of Leicestershire award for services to the local community, currently operates in the town of Melton Mowbray and has delivered milk to over 800 customers in 22 villages for over 25 years, never missing a day’s delivery.

Whilst Tony is a businessman, his activities set him apart from others in that he possesses a real concern for the communities he delivers milk to. He embodies the community spirit by ensuring vulnerable people on his milk round are safe and cared for. Helping to ensure the safety of the community, Tony has assisted police officers in catching a string of criminals, successfully foiling burglaries and keeping an eye out for any suspicious behaviour. Tony also looks out for the elderly and regularly calls at the homes of vulnerable people to make sure they have essentials. If he encounters a problem, Tony will contact the authorities to ensure assistance arrives.

John Mulloy from Cotteswold Dairy, who nominated Mr Fowler, said: “Tony not only goes the extra mile for his community, but lives and breathesa true sense of community. His hands-on approach to his customers is remarkable.“There are so many examples which demonstrate the type of milkman Tony really is - he does a lot more than simply delivering the daily pinta. From identifying when the elderly need medical assistance or alerting police to early morning criminal activity, Tony has always gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the vulnerable are safe and cared for.”

Dr Judith Bryans, Chief Executive of Dairy UK, said: “Milkmen and women can often be a lifeline the elderly, the housebound and the vulnerable. We would like to congratulate Tony on the outstanding service he provides for the community.”

It is extremely fitting that Tony should receive his award this week, because it is Cheltenham Festival week and Tony used to appear there as a highly accomplished jockey. He won two races at the meeting, the Olympics of jumps racing, in the 1980s. Famously he also showed his bottle, and plenty of it, as 35 years ago on Gold Cup day, he raced in the sensational Foxhunter Chase, despite having broken his collar bone just five days earlier. An Honourable Man, he was beaten in a photo finish by The Drunken Duck. Racing fans continue to talk about that race to this day and it was recently celebrated, along with Tony’s subsequent career as a crime-fighting, life-saving milkman, in Richard Austen’s book At The Festival. No doubt Tony will continue his milk round for many more years to come and he’s a great asset and example of service to the community.

Below is a photo from the book of the 1982 race. It is by Bernard Parkin and shows Honourable Man (near side) up against The Drunken Duck at the final fence.

​

Cotteswold Free Range Milk launched in CO-OP

Mid-counties Co-Op’s have seen the opportunity that Free range milk has given to farmers and have joined the movement by now stocking our free range milk. They have seen the gap in the market and have responded to consumer demand to offer this milk in store. Mid-counties Co-Op’s are passionate about working with local brands who have a story to tell and therefore Cotteswold Dairy was an obvious choice to link up with. In recent years, they have changed the way that stores look and what they offer and this local offering is only going to increase as consumers become more aware of what they buy. With all the current activity seen in the media, the public no longer see milk as a commodity but want to know more about the provenience and where it has come from. This also gives the public an opportunity to buy local milk from a local dairy.

The stores that are currently stocking it are:

Cheltenham – Bath Road (GL53 7NE)

Cheltenham – Montpellier (GL50 1SD)

Bourton on the Water (GL54 2EP)

Chipping Norton (OX7 5AB)

Rissington (GL54 2NS)

Charlbury (OX7 3QR)

Woodstock (OX20 1TG)

Kings Sutton (OX17 3RT)

Diddington (OX15 4SA)

Summertown - Oxford (OX2 7BY)

If you have a local Co-Op near you that you think should stock our milk, then keep asking them or let us know.

We also have an extensive area that we provide a doorstep delivery, so if this is of interest to you then do get in touch.

​

Focus on one of our Organic Farms - Tom Appleby Applevale Ltd

Our Organic milk and cream has a distinctive creamy taste with hints of grassy notes. It is sourced from 3 local farms that are all located within 15 miles from the Dairy. Tom Appleby, runs his Organic herd at Bretforton House Farm, near Evesham with his wife Nicola and Father, James and have been supplying Cotteswold for 11 years.

Tom is a passionate dedicated farmer and happily shares the history of his business and how they operate differently from conventional dairy farms.

Tom’s grandparents moved into the farm 50 years ago and initially was ran as a mixed farm, (Dairy, Beef, Veg and Arable) until his grandfather’s retirement in 1996. His Uncle took on the Cropping and his parents, James & Susan, the cows. In 1998 the decision was taken to convert to Organic, with the first Organic milk being sold in 2000. Tom returned to the family farm in 2005 and Spot Loggins Ice Cream was born, which is now run by Tom’s Sister Pheobe and her fiancé David with involvement from Mum Susan too. In 2011, they increased their herd from 250 cows to 550 and with that they have updated the infrastructure, which culminated in 2016 with the building of a new milking shed. They work closely with local Organic farmers who grow grass and rear youngstock for them.

Tom aims to keep his farming system simple and as low carbon as possible. With their 326 hectares, they only grow grass and clover which enables the cows to consume the majority of their diet in the form of grazed grass. They walk to their feed and spread their own manure, not using artificial fertilisers and therefore much less fossil fuel is burnt per litre of milk compared with conventional systems. They are also not ploughing their land on a regular basis (which releases carbon into the atmosphere) and so their pastures act as a carbon sink.

By keeping things simple, they feel that it is a good place to work for their excellent team who run the farm. This in turn reduces stress on the cows, important for their wellbeing and the quality of the milk they produce.

Their cows are kept organically on a grass diet with some supplement over winter. They calve between August and October and are only housed for around 100-120 days per year between November and February. They aim for 90% of their milk to be produced from grass, and 60% of this to be grazed grass. The cows are crossbred, predominantly New Zealand and Norweigan genetics. This produces healthy, fertile and long lasting cows. Very few antibiotic treatments are used, as the cows live in a low stress environment and are exceptionally well cared for. When an animal does need treatment, 90% of cases are cured with homoepathic or herbal remedies.

Dairy plays an important, and growing role in agriculture. With the decline in mixed farming systems, arable and horticultural systems have seen the health of their soil decline. This is mainly due to a lack of organic matter which feeds the multitude of organisms which live in the soil and provide the nutrients required for crops to grow. This can best be replenished by growing non-edible crops such as grass and spreading manure – which is where the cows come in!

Tom believes strongly that milk in the UK should be produced from grass. In this country, grass grows for most of year, which gives a natural advantage over hotter, colder and drier places (everywhere else). On top of this, grass is the healthiest feed for cows and grass-fed cows produce the most nutritious milk – it’s a win-win-win.

Tom is also involved in various stewardship and environmental schemes and diversified into making the delicious ice cream, Spot Loggins too!

Tom summaries ‘I personally take enormous pride in being able to tell people who visit the farm that our milk is processed locally and that when they pick up a bottle of Cotteswold Organic milk, typically 50% of it was produced on our farm.

As a family business, Cotteswold understand the challenges we face. We have always found George very understanding, willing to listen to what we have to say and equally to share with us his own plans for the processing and marketing of our milk.’

Do take time to look at their facebook page and make sure you taste some of their delicious Spot Loggins ice cream!

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware about where their produce comes from, the story behind it and that the producer gets a fair price. What about the milk you get? Do you know where it comes from and what kind of deal does the farmer and his cows get? Well, at Cotteswold Dairy, we maintain a close relationship with the farmers that supply us with milk.

Many people think that all cows live in fields. However less cows now enjoy the freedom to graze on lush pastures and big dairies mix their milk from hundreds of farms, denying consumers the chance to choose the provenance of their milk. We want our customers to know that milk is not all the same!

Cotteswold Dairy is here to offer you that choice and add real value. We work in partnership with our local farmers and have partnered with the Free Range Dairy Network. The Pasture Promise™ is independently certified to provide a clear assurance that cows are free to graze in fields for at least 180 days a year. This gives it a great natural taste too, and our Free Range whole milk was awarded accreditation from the Great Taste Awards 2016.

Our Free Range whole milk is not homogenised giving a naturally creamy taste. This is known to be better for texturing, giving excellent foam stability which is perfect lattes and cappuccinos.

Choose Free Range milk to demonstrate your commitment to keeping cows in fields and keeping traditional British dairy farms in business and taste the difference. We give all of our farmers a premium for providing us with Free Range Milk.

The Free Range Dairy Pasture Promise™ logo is the only logo that certifies milk as Free Range, from cows put out to pasture for at least 180 days of the year. So if it’s not on there, it’s not Free Range! Free Range milk will feature on the new series of Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, Channel 4 at 8pm on the 20th January - see their views on it!

For more information about Free Range milk and other products available from Cotteswold dairy please click here. More information on Free Range Dairy can be found by clicking here.

Free Range Dairy

Our Free Range Milk Promise

The Free Range Dairy Pasture Promise™ is the only label that gives a clear assurance that milk comes from cows that enjoy the freedom to graze for at least 180 days of the year.

Free Range Dairy is a Community Interest Company (CIC) working to promote the value of pasture-based milk production on UK farms, for the benefit of farmers, cows and consumers. We are just part of this growing network and all free range milk will carry this Pasture Promise logo. It helps to support the traditional farming methods to help these smaller run farms remain in business.

The cows are only housed in the winter months to give them shelter. But we will allow farmers to temporarily house their cows if extreme weather threatens their welfare at other times.

The milk is collected separately from a handful of carefully selected farmers who adhere to strict free range standards and at Cotteswold Dairy, our free range milk comes from within 15 miles of our processing site.

The farms that supply free range milk are independently assessed as part of farm assurance scheme and are members of an organisation called Free Range Dairy, which works to keep cows in fields and provide consumers with a more informed choice about the milk they buy.

Have a try – its great tasting milk and you are likely to taste the difference. You can find out more at www.freerangedairy.org and also read our focus story on the Hobbs Family at Barhouse Farm www.cotteswold-dairy.co.uk/our-farmers.html

Free Range Dairy

Taynton Court Farm

Two of the farmers that supply us with Milk are both shortlisted in different catogories at the Taste of Gloucestershire awards on Tuesday 18th October 2016.

Jack Griffiths is up for ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ and Jenni Hobbs under ‘Farmer of the Year’.

The dairy industry has had a tough 18 months and these dairy farmers have shown through hard work and dedication that they can find a niche in a difficult time.

Cotteswold Dairy celebrates World School Milk Day with Dotty the Cow on 28th September 2016

As part of World School Milk Day today, Cotteswold Dairy backed The Dairy Council’s initiative to visit a local nursery and primary school to get moving and learn about dairy nutrition. Being active, eating well and making the right choices is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and so Cotteswold Dairy staff and Dotty the Cow spoke on the importance of milk to help to fuel healthy growth and development.

First stop for Dotty the Cow was Mini VIPs nursery on Gretton Road, Winchcombe where the pre-school children drank a milk third, did the ‘Milk Shake Dance’ and were given a balloon, sticker and colouring pad. They all liked enjoyed seeing Dotty the Cow and it was amazing to find out what they knew about milk and where it came from.

Ezri-May Andrews especially enjoyed the activity as her Dad works at the Dairy so she was thrilled to see the milk that her dad helps produce.

Next stop was Ashton-under-Hill Primary School where more milk was given out and the children really got involved in talking about the cows, milk production and processing. Many of the children talked about their doorstep delivery. Charlie Archer, age 5 said he loved having his milk in glass bottles and seeing a milk van! One of the other pupils said it was the ‘best milk she had ever tasted!’. The children loved talking to Dotty the cow and all participated in the dance that was created by Dairy UK.

Dr Judith Bryans, Chief Executive of Dairy UK, said: “World School Milk Day is a great opportunity to help children understand why making healthy eating and drinking choices matters so much. “It’s great to see that so many schools have signed up to get involved with The Dairy Council’s initiative which is all about finding fun ways to encourage children to be physically active and enjoy milk. I’m really looking forward to watching all these great dancing videos.” Erica Hocking, Senior Nutrition Scientist at The Dairy Council, said: “At primary school age, it is essential that children should have a healthy, balanced diet and get plenty of physical activity to help them maintain a healthy weight as they get older. “We would like to thank Mini VIPs and Aston under Hill for letting us spend some time with them. We were impressed by their knowledge and love of Milk. We have uploaded some photos onto our website so do take a look at www.cotteswold-dairy.co.uk or look at our Facebook page’ comments Roseanne McEwan from Cotteswold Dairy. ‘Milk is an easy, tasty and affordable way to help children to get their recommended daily allowance of calcium, protein and iodine and we know the children had fun learning about milk today.”

Roseann runs Honeybourne line, a wonderful blog which is all about supporting local business.

"Honeybourne Line is the place where I share my passion (some may call it an obsession) for food. I’m at my happiest discovering local (and not-so local) chefs, talent, eateries, drinkeries, food and drink produce and anything else that relates - in the slightest - to tantalising those taste buds of mine. When I’m not out and about, you’ll find me trawling through (far too many) recipe books and magazines trying to decide what I’m going to whip up for my next meal."

Roger Workman, Chairman of Cotteswold Dairy has beaten hundreds of other nominations from different regions around the UK to be named the Winner of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at this years Red Ribbon Awards. These are highest and most prestigious accolade to be awarded to Britain’s independent, family‐owned businesses.

Now in their 7th year, the Red Ribbon Awards have become the most sought after prize from family businesses around the country. They recognise and celebrate the contribution of families around the UK. Last year the winner of the life time achievement went to Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche.

To have even reached being a finalist was an amazing achievement:

The judges commented –

“With a strong work ethic and an evening stronger love for his business this entrepreneur led his family firm, Cotteswold Dairy, for over 50 years. Roger was instrumental in becoming the first dairy in the UK to produce organic milk in returnable glasses and even saved the business in the Tewkesbury floods of 2007 when there was no clean water. He has also supported the community by giving local businesses and charities facilities on his site. This individual has become hugely admired and respected by his employees, his community as well as local business leaders. He has created a true legacy for generations to come. “

Cotteswold Dairy as a business were also thrilled to be shortlisted in the ‘Best of British’ category.

We are immensely proud of Roger and his achievement.

World Milk Day - Wednesday 1 June 2016

Today is World Milk Day and as you can imagine we are very fond of our milk and can't think of a better reason to drink more milk and bake some lovely recipes with our tasty Cotteswold Milk today...so why not take a look at our recipes section for some inspiration and tell us via Facebook and Twitter how you will be celebrating #WorldMilkDay today?

Or you can go for the easy option and enjoy some fresh British strawberries with fresh Cotteswold Double Cream:

And why not book Sunday 5 June 2016 into your diary and take part in Open Farm Sunday - we will be at Court Farm Shop, come and join us for some family fun!

In this second year of the Western Daily Press Food and Farming Awards, which celebrate the best of farming and food production in the West Country, Cotteswold Dairy were delighted to be shortlisted in two categories; the ‘Food and Drink Business of the Year’ category and Harry Workman who founded the dairy in 1938 was nominated for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Farming’. Harry sadly passed away in January of this year but it seemed the local population wanted to see him recognised for what he and his family have achieved.

We are delighted to announce that Harry won in the Outstanding Contribution to Farming category. Roger Workman, Harry’s son and Chairman of Cotteswold Dairy, went to collect the award on Harry’s behalf and commented; 'It’s such a shame my father isn’t here this evening to know that he’d been recognised for such a prestigious award. My father would have been delighted not just for himself but for all the staff and farmers that have worked with the Workman family past and present. At the end of last year we won Family Business of the Year award at the Houses of Parliament which my father said was the icing on the cake, but this is really the cream of the crop’.

Harry’s family members remain pivotal to the success and development of Cotteswold Dairy and are guardians of Harry’s legacy. Collecting the award alongside Roger, were three of Harry’s grandchildren, George is now at the helm as Managing Director, whilst Louise and Roseanne are Customer Development Manager and Marketing Manager respectively.

George commented; ‘It’s a real privilege to be able to carry on the business that my grandfather began. We are all incredibly proud of where it started and we hope the business will continue to grow and serve the community around us.’

The dairy were runners up in the Food and Drink Provider of the Year category, narrowly missing out to the excellent Cotswold Gold. Judge Steve Ashworth commented that it was 'so close' between the two. Cotteswold Dairy would like to pass on our hearty congratulations to Charlie Beldam and his team at Cotswold Gold, as well as all the other worthy winners and nominees.

The black tie ceremony was a fantastic evening celebrating food, farming and drink with a great atmosphere. Hosts for the evening, held at the Marriott hotel in Bristol, were Tom Herbert from Hobbs House Bakery and Rob Stokes, the editor of the Western Daily Press.

Roger Workman collecting the award

Charity Quiz Evening at the Roses Theatre

Tuesday 14th June 2016 at 7:30pm

We are delighted to be holding a charity quiz event at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury in aid of Isla's Walking Dream.

All proceeds will go towards helping fund an operation in America for Isla which will vastly improve her quality of life.

This is a perfect opportunity for business networking, a company social event or a great evening out with family and friends.

A team of 4 or 5 will cost you just £15, which will be donated straight to Isla's Walking Dream.

To celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday, we decided to create special commemorative labels for our poly bottles. Cotteswold Dairy are huge fans of the Royal Family, so it seems obvious to thank the Queen for all that she has done for the country and mark this momentous age. "Due to our recent rebranding exercise, it is really straightforward to change our label designs and we have known for a long time we wanted to produce something different and distinct for the Queen reaching this milestone," explains Roseanne McEwan, Marketing Manager.

Left image shows the new celebratory labels on poly bottles and right image, from left to right are: Tom Rogers, Przemyslaw Chwolka and Lee Danbury

In September last year, when the Queen became the longest serving Monarch, we created a Union Jack out of our glass milk bottles. The coloured tops created the look:

As a company we are very patriotic and we are very grateful to all that she has done for Britain and the Commonwealth.

Cotteswold Dairy was started in 1938 by Harry Workman, when the Queen would have already been 12 years old, not knowing at that point how her life would unfold. We are hugely proud of what she has achieved and she has done it all with grace, dignity and with a real passion for her country. We are honoured to be British and support the Royal Family  they all do so much for our country with their good works. We wonder if the Queen can thank the milk she drinks for her long and fruitful life!

Do look for our special labels and raise a glass for our Queen. We are producing them for a limited period and will be available until the Queens official Birthday celebrations in June.

Free Range Milk

It was a beautiful still Spring morning and overhead a chorus of birds could be heard alongside the dairy cows at Barhouse Farm in the village of Elmore, near Gloucester as they waited in anticipation to be turned out to grass for the Summer months ahead. Jerry Hobbs explained that the cows know when the time comes to go out in the fields because they can smell the sweet grass and realise that it’s time to be free out in the fields.

Like so many farming families, Jerry and Jenni Hobbs are passionate about what they do and want to add value to the milk they produce. They use their initiative not only in the way they breed their 220 cows but they have recently become one of the first farms to join the Free Range Dairy Network. As members of the Free Range Dairy Network, they now supply Free Range Milk to Cotteswold Dairy in Tewkesbury, which is marketed under the Pasture Promise™ label. This has enabled small, independent dairy companies the chance to offer their customers a more informed milk choice.

Farmers supplying milk under the Pasture Promise label are required to comply with clear standards, with the assurance that cows graze in fields for a minimum of 6 months of the year. It helps safeguard the future of traditional British dairy farms who have long established farming methods and in return they are rewarded with a premium by the milk buyer.

Cotteswold Dairy value all of their farmers that supply them with milk regardless of the type that it is. However they realise the need to be able to offer choice and more importantly, they want the consumer to be assured that the milk they get from Cotteswold Dairy is highest quality and best standard milk.

Not all milk is the same and consumers are increasingly keen to know where their food comes from. Look out for Cotteswold Dairy products and their new Free Range with the pasture promise logo on.

Our Free Range Milk will be featured on BBC's Countryfile on Sunday 3rd April 2016 with Jerry and Jenni's farm also being featured.

It is with great sadness we inform you that Harry Workman, the founder of Cotteswold Dairy, passed away peacefully on Friday 22nd January 2016.

Mr Workman founded the Dairy in 1938, buying a 30 gallon per day milk round from his brother-in-law. It started as Spa Farm Dairy and he delivered milk, door to door, by bucket and ladle. He was a well respected gentleman, well known amongst the town of Tewkesbury. We are very grateful for the wonderful tributes that are coming in.

His son, and Dairy Chairman, Roger Workman said: "He was such a warm-hearted and caring Christian individual who was a real gentleman and was so well respected and liked by all that knew him...He made time for anyone and spoke at many different places about his faith, stories of Tewkesbury and of the dairy...He loved all his family and friends and will be missed by so many people."

Tewkesbury's town mayor, Councillor John Badham, said: "He was one of Tewkesbury's great characters. Whilst he had attained a great age, it doesn't make his loss any less painful for his family and many friends. Those newcomers to Tewkesbury like me will miss the sight of him zooming along the pavement on his mobility scooter. However, those who have lived here longer, will know that he played an extraordinary part in the life of the town. His influence over the development of his family company was clearly immense. He will be sorely missed - may he rest in peace and rise in glory."

Mr Workman, who lived in the town's High Street, was thrilled that Cotteswold Dairy won the Family Business of the Year award at the Food & Farming Industry Awards last month. The business has grown significantly and is now managed by the third generation of The Workman Family.

Harry will be sorely missed but his legacy goes on.

Cotteswold Dairy Rebrand – 4th January 2016

Having been established since 1938, the Workman family who are the founders of Cotteswold Dairy are holding an event to celebrate the history of the company and to unveil plans for the future.

Over the years, Cotteswold Dairy has become a household name locally and it was felt that a fresh look was needed to help keep the name established. The launch of the new branding along with new website, labels, values and development plans will be launched at the Roses Theatre on Wednesday the 27th January from 5-7.30pm.

The Roses is an ideal venue as Cotteswold Dairy has recently sent up a partnership with the Theatre with their coffee shop venture. It’s good to see Cotteswold presence on the high street and working with the Roses Theatre Charity. On the evening, there will be a presentation, a short movie showing our history, production and how we have got to where we are today. There will also be opportunity to sample some of the products we currently produce and an ideal time to network with other businesses.

We remain an independent, family run dairy and celebrate all things good about working with British farmers. At present we work with 50 farmers who are all located within a 50 mile radius to provide us with their fresh milk which we then process into many different milk types and sizes. We have also increased our product range and produce clotted cream, crème fraiche, soured cream, Greek style yogurt and from the end of January we will be producing free range milk.

George Workman, Managing Director, explains ‘our current look has just evolved with time and not everything has always remained consistent. As we want to remain in the competitive market, we needed to produce something that really represents what Cotteswold Dairy stands for’. This refined look certainly represents all the elements of heritage, quality, locality and high end delivery service but will still be recognised in the market place.

Isla's Walking Charity: January 2016

During 2016 we will be raising money to help make a little girl’s dream of walking come true.

Isla is 3 years old and after being born 12 weeks early, she developed Cerebral Palsy. Isla is unable to sit, crawl, walk or stand unaided. The money we raise will help fund an operation in America, which will vastly improve Isla’s quality of life. It will enable her to have more control of her legs, therefore leading to a more mobile, pain-free life and help her achieve her dream of walking! As a company we will be taking part in a number of Charity events over the course of 2016. These include a sponsored Slim, Three Peaks, donations and sales of goods from events we attend.

George Workman, MD of Cotteswold Dairy comments ‘As a company we believe it is really important to help those in the community around us. Upon reading Isla’s story and meeting with her and her family, we were really touched and knew straight away we wanted to help Isla realise her dream.’

FAMILY BUSINESS AWARD WINNERS - FOOD AND FARMING AWARDS - HOUSE OF COMMONS - December 2015

We are pleased to announce that Cotteswold Dairy won the Family Business of the Year Award 2015 at the Food & Farming Industry Awards held at the House of Commons.

The event, for all food and farming businesses across the UK, was attended by Cotteswold Dairy Chairman Roger Workman and its Managing Director, George Workman, who received it on behalf of the business.

Roger said: "This is a very great honour and recognition to not only us as a family but to all of our staff, past and present. It is the hard work and commitment of our staff that help keep our business successful."

The judges commented on the fact that the business had supplied British farmed and produced milk since 1938.

Award officials described the dairy as being "a phenomenal family business" that they hoped would go on for another 77 years.

They commented on how the business had been founded by Harry and had grown from its humble beginnings. It had adhered to strict quality and service and developed with Roger and then George in charge while still retaining the family's tradition and values.

Roger and George took the award to show Harry, the day after they received it. Tewkesbury High Street resident Harry, who is 98, said: "It is a real privilege to have been given the award. We have always been so fortunate with the staff we have employed and I feel very proud of all my family."

Roger and George Workman said receiving an award at the House of Commons was one of the ultimate accolades a business could receive and was a credit to everyone involved with the company.

Working at Cotteswold Dairy has its fun moments and this has been highlighted when staff at Cotteswold Dairy, Tewkesbury took part in their very own version of the ’The 12 days of Christmas’.

The words were written over one Sunday lunchtime by Roger and Gill Workman and soon they had their 12 items that the Milkman sent to me!! It has now been produced into a Christmas card and there are various ‘You Tube’ clips on the Cotteswold Dairy channel.

Photographs and video recordings were taken by Roger’s daughters Louise and Roseanne plus Granddaughter Lucy who all work in the marketing department in the dairy. ‘We had a lot of fun putting the song together’ explains Roseanne ‘and whilst some staff seemed too shy to participate, others seemed to really enjoy it!’. Some staff dressed up with Christmas hats, some with jumpers and other fancy dress!

It just goes to show that drinking milk can really make you sing well! To watch the different versions visit our YouTube Channel.

Hope you enjoy it as much as they did producing it!!

Happy Christmas from all at Cotteswold Dairy

MILK HEROES AWARD - 13th November 2015

NOMINATE THE TRULY OUTSTANDING MILKMEN AND WOMEN

Dairy UK is celebrating the great British tradition of doorstep delivery by recognising the outstanding milkmen and women who have gone above and beyond the call of duty on their milk rounds.

Every day, thousands of milkmen and women deliver milk, dairy products and much more to loyal customers across the country. Not only do these men and women deliver milk and household essentials, but they also are active members of the community.

Dairy UK is therefore looking for the next Milk Heroes who deserve to be rewarded for their dedication to the community and is calling on all its members to nominate outstanding milkmen and women for a Milk Hero award.

Previous winners of the award have rescued elderly customers, alerted the authorities to fires, thwarted burglaries and car thefts and been involved in a whole range of meritorious acts that have benefited customers and the local community.

Dr Judith Bryans, Chief Executive of Dairy UK, said: “Our milkmen and women are an important part of the community, and they willingly go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the safety of our neighbourhoods and the wellbeing of the community.

“Dairy UK is delighted to be bringing back the Milk Heroes award in recognition of our outstanding milkmen and women.”

Milkmen and women nominated for a Milk Hero award must be Dairy UK members, employed by and/ or a franchisee of a Dairy UK member. Nominees can be employed roundsmen/ women, BMBs and franchisees.

The customer experience has always been of paramount importance to newly refurbished Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, who are always working to improve upon what the arts centre already has to offer. By working in partnership with Cotteswold Dairy Ltd they are hoping to massively boost the value of your visits to the new theatre, as well as provide more employment opportunities to the local community.

'Cotteswold Coffee @ The Roses' boasts an extensive range of delicious, locally sourced cakes, pastries and focaccias, plus a refreshing new range of milkshakes and hot drinks which caters for all tastes. The sleek and contemporary outlet fits seamlessly with the rest of the newly refurbished arts centre and the welcoming and homely feel of the theatre remains as it was before, meaning you can feel content to relax before and after your main entertainment.

Providing the all important coffee beans is Ethical Addictions; not only are they a local company with excellent customer service and a commitment to sourcing high quality coffee, but they are also making a difference in coffee producing countries. What makes them unique is that they buy direct from the farm, returning a much larger proportion of the price to the people who do the work to produce their great coffee. They know their producers on a personal level and they are conscious about social and environmental concerns on the farm and in the village. Also available are premium products from other local companies.

As the only the only coffee shop in the area selling Cotteswold Dairy products, Cotteswold Coffee @ The Roses is a one of a kind outlet. They are no strangers to breaking the mould and building bridges where it’s least expected; with this new endeavour they aim to establish themselves as one of the most forward thinking and innovative artistic hotspots in Gloucestershire.

Cotteswold Dairy Ltd is a local, family run business whose core values of high quality products paired with incomparable customer service match ours. Working with local farmers, within a 30 mile radius of the dairy, means that they are able to supply the highest quality milk and dairy produce direct to our door.

QUEEN LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH - September 2015

To mark Queen Elizabeth II becoming the longest serving Monarch, Cotteswold Dairy decided to pay a special tribute in a way that hasn’t been attempted before!

‘We are delighted that Queen Elizabeth II has reached this milestone and wondered what we could do to express that’ explains Roger Workman, Chairman of Cotteswold Dairy. ‘As a company we are very patriotic and we are very grateful to all that she has done for Britain and the commonwealth. My daughter Louise, who also works in the Dairy came up with the idea of laying out milk bottles in a union jack with a crown of bottles. Milk bottle tops are blue for skim, red for semi, silver for whole milk and of course not forgetting Gold for channel island milk.’ So with some planning of what was required, a team comprising of some of the Workman family members and Dave Loveys, the depot manager at Cheltenham, the union jack and crown has been created!

‘I only managed to smash one bottle’ said Louise ‘Along with my son Tom and sister Roseanne, we carefully created the Union Jack and then worked out how the Queen's crown should look. This was created with the Gold Top bottles and the red tops to mark rubies. We think the finished look is great and we have made it into a card to send to the Queen.’

Cotteswold Dairy which began by Harry Workman in 1938 has in fact been going for 14 years longer than the Queens reign and has watched like many others how the Queen has ruled over with Grace and Dignity. The Queen has witnessed so many changes in her reign and like us has had to get used to new methods of working and development. When she started her reign in 1952, our staff comprised of 15 and we were located then at Cotteswold Road in Tewkesbury. Today we have 330 staff on payroll and our headquarters are in Northway Lane, Tewkesbury. We served approx. 2,000 doorstep customers compared to 30,000 customers now. At that time, we produced 4,000 Litres of milk per day and now 52,000 litres of milk per day. We had a fleet of 8 compared with 90 now. At that time, Milk cost 2d (in old pence) as opposed to a glass bottle of 71p in today’s money.

We are proud to be British and support the Royal Family – they do so much for our country with the good works that they do. We hope the Queen continues her reign for many years to come and of course keeps drinking her milk!

EXPANSION PLANS - PUBLIC CONSULTATION - July 2015

A public consultation was held in regard to our plans for expansion. Many people attended the consultation at Alderman Knight School, Tewkesbury where proposed plans for re-developing the existing Cotteswold Dairy site on Northway Lane were outlined.

‘We have been on our present site since 1969 and have been aware for a period of time that we need to modernise our facilities to maximise its potential’ explains George Workman, Managing Director. ‘At the same time we will be improving facilities for the staff and an aim of the project is to reduce the impact that our activities have on the environment.’

George is third generation of the Workman family and the business has changed significantly since his Grandfather Harry started the business in 1938. ‘Whilst the company has grown we maintain our family values and Tewkesbury has always been our home.’ He comments ‘With the competition of major supermarkets and other mid-size dairies, we need to alter the site so that it is fit for purpose and so that we maintain focus of top quality products, delivered with first class customer service’.

Re-development is an emotive subject which is why Vitruvius has been chosen to manage the project, as they were fundamental in the Alderman Knight re-design. ‘We chose to hold the consultation at the school as we feel it demonstrates to the general public how we make best use of space and attention to detail’ remarks Mark Price, Managing Director for Vitruvious. ‘We are thrilled to be involved in this exciting opportunity for Cotteswold Dairy who currently employ over 250 staff in Gloucestershire. They need to optimise their space and buildings to help future growth.’

The Workman family hopes the planning application will be well received as they feel they have a huge responsibility to staff, customers, producers and suppliers and this will enable them to remain competitive in the market place.

Laurence Robertson MP is one of the many supporters of this project ‘I am more than delighted to support the application by Cotteswold Dairies. Cotteswold is a vital local employer and much valued in the area. As part of a thriving and vibrant mixed economy which is vital to the success of the area it is very important that businesses such as Cotteswold who are well known in the community are given the support to expand and change. The local farming community I know fully support and greatly rely in Cotteswold and this bid will not only help local employment and the environment but give a boost in confidence to other local businesses and the community. Growth such as this is vital in the long term plan for Tewkesbury and indeed Gloucestershire ensuring a balanced and mixed growth that is vital to a modern and forward thinking country.’

The development will happen over a staged approach to minimise disruption and consideration has been taken to maintain usual production.

Chairman Roger Workman from Cotteswold Dairy decided it was an ideal opportunity to have photographs of his growing family when his daughter Nicola and her family visited from New Zealand. ‘I have been blessed with four children and 11 grandchildren, so really special to have us all together. We have always been a close family but realised when Nicola married Chris, a kiwi, she would one day relocate there.’

Nicola’s recent visit came about as Roger recently celebrated his 70th Birthday, and so all 21 members of his close family had a holiday together. ‘We had such a brilliant, action packed fun filled time’ remarked Roger ‘not many families are as close as ours and I feel so proud of them all.’

His other three children are all involved in the family business with George heading up the company as Managing Director and his eldest grandson Harry has a Saturday job in the laboratory.